Sophie Comes Out On Top

What the? Despite being panned by critics, supremely unfunny sitcom Sophie bested jPod in the ratings this week as the CBC rookies continue to goose the CBC schedule.

jPod, starring David Kopp as a gamer dude, drew 472,000 viewers across Canada according to Tuesdays overnight ratings report from BBM/Nielsen. House on Global was the big timeslot winner with 1,312,000, followed by a new episode of CTV’s disturbing CBS drama Criminal Minds at 965,000.

More worrying for the jPod producers was the steep fall off from what came before it on CBC: The Rick Mercer Report (801,000) and This Hour Has 22 Minutes (659,000). If that weren’t bad enough, next week it faces the return of American Idol. Gulp.

Sophie, starring beguiling Natalie Brown as a career girl in crisis, scored 630,000 viewers Wednesday, easily beating Global’s gamer Power of 10 with Drew Carey (476,000) but getting creamed by a new episode of Law & Order on CTV (1,412,000). The new comedy probably benefited from a very strong episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie, which attracted 804,000 viewers at 8 p.m. Both showswill have to deal with Idol next week.

So far, the new Monday drama The Border, at 710,000 viewers, has been the biggest hit among the CBC newcomers. The sexy new prime time soap MVP–described as “Desperate Hockey Wives”–debuts tonight at 9. Friday is usually where shows go to die but CBC could again benefit from a lack of stiff competition during the writers strike.